“Weingut Erbeldinger” in Rheinhessen is a Great Wine Capitals prize winner with certified organic vintage and sustainable customer service.
It always reads so simply: “a family business.” But what does this mean in everyday life? Above all, it means a lot of commitment, empathy, understanding across generations. It means a lot of patience and sustainable relationship work. Where it works, it is a perfect constellation. At Erbeldingers in Rheinhessen, it works perfectly: The whole family is passionately committed to personal contact with customers.
Beautiful nature surrounds the property. Credit: Weingut Familie Erbeldinger
Personal contact with video clips
During the pandemic, direct contact with their long-standing customers was only possible to a limited extent. For this reason, the family produced highly entertaining video clips and posted them online. With short personal stories and the digital video wine advisor with daughter Gudrun Erbeldinger, contact is also maintained online. The strength of the family business is particularly evident during tastings in the on-site wine shop. Here you can see the family in action: mother Edith, father Stefan, daughter Gudrun and daughter-in-law Gundi. With Rhineland-Hessian way of life and their naturalness, everyone helps visitors to find the right wine – sip by sip. That’s what you call sustainable customer service.
Conversion to organic cultivation
The vinery is now in the hands of Christoph Erbeldinger. Credit: Weingut Familie Erbeldinger
Stefan handed over the business to his son Christoph early on. The young winemaker has been running the winery since 2022. The practitioner learnt his trade at the Weegmüller winery in the wineregion Palatinate (Pfalz). The wines are matured in stainless steel tanks and traditional large wooden barrels. The conversion of the 27-hectare vineyard to organic cultivation was completed in 2024. The 2023 vintage is the first certified organic vintage.
The distance from the winery to the vineyards is short. Credit: Weingut Familie Erbeldinger
Sustainability in detail also means that customers’ empty wine bottles are taken back, rinsed and reused. And no long distances: The vineyards are all located within a 15-kilometre radius of the winery. The vines grow on very different soils and microclimates.
Something for every wine lover
The Erbeldingers play to their particular strengths with their wide range of wines: their customer-orientation. The winery offers many different grape varieties. White wine classics such as Riesling and Pinot Blanc – as well as Huxelrebe, Gelber Muskateller and Scheurebe. Those who are not interested in grape varieties can stick to the themed wines: “Wine after work” is the name of a white wine cuvée made from different grape varieties. This is simply meant to be fun after work. “Herzklopfen” (meaning “heart beat”) is the name of the velvety, dry red wine counterpart.
The winery offers beating hearts after work. Credit: Weingut Familie Erbeldinger
There have already been several awards for the effort. Credit: Weingut Familie Erbeldinger
Think like a customer
Erbeldingers think about wine from the customer’s point of view. And many customers think more about flavour and less about grape varieties. The red wines are dominated by classic grape varieties such as Pinot Noir, St. Laurent, Portugieser and Dornfelder. Exotic varieties such as Syrah and Cabernet Franc are also on offer. The high-quality Cuvée E from Gundersheimer Höllenbrand is of particular interest to wine connoisseurs.
Erbeldinger’s customer-friendly sparkling wines are made from different grape varieties. The selection ranges from Riesling to Pinot Blanc to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir as a red wine and rosé sparkling wine. Non-alcoholic sparkling wines are also on the wine list.
The cook is in her element. Credit: Weingut Familie Erbeldinger
Customer loyalty also works in culinary terms: Christoph’s partner Gundi comes from Tyrol. She treats guests to delicious dishes from her crossover cuisine at various events at the winery. Regional artists perform at the events from time to time. Customers appreciate this: Many have been loyal customers for generations. Guests can taste the wines all year round with personal advice. Twice a year there are tasting days with a supporting program. The Erbeldingers simply look after their people.
The prize for the Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism Award 2024 in the category “Sustainability in Wine Tourism” goes to “Weingut Erbeldinger”. The passionate commitment to customer service and organic wine production impressed the jury – and the public also voted in favour of the winery in the “People’s Choice Award”.
More information
To learn more about “Weingut Erbeldinger” visit the website.
About the blogger:
TV- and wine journalist Wolfgang Junglas is responsible for tv broadcasts such as “The Election of the German Wine Queen” in the entertainment editorial department at SWR Television in Mainz. He is also a writer, president of Weinfeder e. V., president of FIJEV and lecturer at Geisenheim University, Geisenheim.
Learn more about Rheinhessen and its wine capital Mainz on their page: Mainz | Rheinhessen